


Midnight bus ride

by Fondeyeslester



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: 2010 Era (Phandom), 2010 Phan, Established Relationship, Fluff, Introspection, Light Angst, M/M, it hits different, phandom fic fests: hits different
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 17:44:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20393638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fondeyeslester/pseuds/Fondeyeslester
Summary: "It’s an eternal moment, where they are young and scared and so fucking in love that it hurts."It's 2010 and Dan shows up at Phil's door with a suitcase full of laundry and tears in his eyes





	Midnight bus ride

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was witten for the hits different fest. Thanks so much to Lili for all of her support and help she gave me!

It’s only a fifteen minute ride to Phil’s flat from his dorm, but Dan didn’t get any sleep last night. The pasta he’d been planning to eat for lunch had gone bad in the fridge and people at the laundromat had been so goddamn weird. Overall, it’s been a shit day. The fluorescent lights of the Manchester streets shine through the bus window. Dan’s eyes are watery from leftover tears and lack of sleep, and the distorted image of the red light in front of him increases his upcoming headache.  
Things were meant to be getting better, Manchester was supposed to be better. But finding himself surrounded by mysterious washing machines and stressed out students made him feel out of his depth in a completely new way. Maybe it was stupid, he’d been holding onto this idea that once he had escaped Reading, all of his problems would dissolve and life would finally make sense. But there was no escaping his feelings or his fears. Dan had been expecting to move out and create a new version of himself out of thin air, but just a week had been enough for him to realize that it didn’t work like that.  
It had to though. This had to work: Manchester, uni, Phil - Dan didn’t know what he’d do if it didn’t. Because he couldn’t go back there, he couldn’t look his dad in the eye and tell him he failed. He couldn’t go back to the same friends and the same pain he’d been running away from. Mostly, he couldn’t hide who he was anymore. He hated it there, and he hated himself for craving the familiarity of his mum’s food, and the smell of his old house. He didn’t want to miss his dad or his friends. Dan wanted to move on.  
He’s a bit more calm when he gets off the bus, not really thinking twice about waking Phil up as he rings. It’s barely midnight - he’ll be up. The door opens to reveal his boyfriend in boxers and a t-shirt, hair a mess. They’re quiet for a moment as they stand by Phil’s door, tiredness making things a little harder to process for the both of them.  
“Are you moving in?” His voice is thick when he finally speaks, and even if a little confused, his tone is so casual and accepting that Dan wants to burst into tears all over again.  
“I’ve had a...weird day.”  
Phil just nods as he steps aside for Dan to come in.  
He flops onto the couch without saying anything. Exhaustion settles deep in his bones, and maybe he’s a little crazy to think this, but the familiar sight of Phil’s flat makes his headache a little more bearable. His eyes close, and Dan begins to fall asleep right then when a cold hand falls on his thigh.  
“Wanna tell me what happened?” Phil hands travels up and down Dan’s leg in a sort of awkward but comforting gesture.  
“I waited for an hour to wash my pants and then a guy stole a sock, so I just...ran away?”  
“ So a classic laundromat experience.”  
“Never going to that place again.”  
“That’s okay, you can wash here.”  
“Thanks.”  
Dan feels a heavy silence in the room, the weight of a weird, complicated week rests on his shoulders. It was hectic and crazy in all the wrong ways, and he feels foolish for expecting anything different from himself.  
“Hey,” Phil’s soft voice pulls him out of his thoughts.  
“Hey,” he answers back.  
And then they kiss. It’s soft and comforting. They kiss tenderly, lovingly. It’s not like most nights they’ve shared, when passion and desperation get the better of them and they let themselves get caught up in pleasure. This time is sweet and meaningful; because the distance between is not what it used to be. Because Dan is in Manchester now, and they can hold each other freely in the small living room of Phil’s new flat.  
The kiss ends, but they still hold each other close, and Dan doesn’t want to let go. The lights are off, the only noise is coming from the street outside. It’s an eternal moment, where they are young and scared and so fucking in love that it hurts.  
“Are you missing home?” Phil says it in a whisper, Dan nods, so Phil kisses him again.  
“I feel like I shouldn’t. I hate it there, I don’t want to go back, but…”  
“Yeah, I know.”  
“I’m just so scared of fucking this up.”  
“It’s a scary thing, but you’ll get used to it, and you’ll make new friends and become a fancy lawyer.”  
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Dan says with a smile.  
“I’m serious, you’ll make this your home.”  
“Yeah?” Dan chokes out, and he wonders what the hell he did to deserve someone like Phil.  
“Yeah. And you’re allowed to miss Reading too.”  
Dan just looks at him, tears have gathered back in his eyes, but this time for a completely different reason.  
“You okay?” Phil says, worry clear in his voice.  
“Sorry, I just… fuck. I love you”  
“I love you too,” he whispers back.  
They kiss again. And again. They kiss until their lips are sore and their breaths run out. They kiss until they’re too tired to keep going, and then they just hold each other and talk about nonsense, letting time pass.  
“ Phil?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I’m kind of hungry,”  
“I have some leftover pizza. Choose a movie, yeah?”  
And so they sit for hours under Phil’s duvet eating way too much pizza and drinking too much coke. They sit together, watching anime until four in the morning. It’s starting to become a ritual for them, one of the many they’ve been building lately. For all of the fears Dan has, for all of the new things that are happening in his life, and everything he wants to leave behind, he knows that right now, next to Phil, he belongs. His suitcase still lays there at their feet, full of dirty clothes, but that’s okay. They’ll wash it in the morning.


End file.
